Is the drawing account a capital account?

Definition of Drawing Account

A sole proprietorship will have a drawing account in which the owner's withdrawals or draws of cash or other assets are recorded. The amounts of the owner's draws are recorded with a debit to the drawing account and a credit to cash or other asset. At the end of the accounting year, the drawing account is closed by transferring the debit balance to the owner's capital account.

The Drawing Account is a Capital Account

To answer your question, the drawing account is a capital account. It's debit balance will reduce the owner's capital account balance and the owner's equity. The drawing account's purpose is to report separately the owner's draws during each accounting year. Since the capital account and owner's equity accounts are expected to have credit balances, the drawing account (having a debit balance) is considered to be a contra account. In addition, the drawing account is a temporary account since its balance is closed to the capital account at the end of each accounting year.

Example of the Drawing Account

Let's assume that L. Ott begins a sole proprietorship with a cash investment of $3,000. The journal entry will debit Cash for $3,000 and will credit L. Ott, Capital for $3,000. Later, the L. Ott withdraws $500 from the business for her personal use. The journal entry for this transaction will debit L. Ott, Drawing for $500 and will credit Cash for $500. After this transaction, the business will have assets of $2,500 and will have owner's equity of $2,500.

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